Flame
by vampgirl18
Summary: Edward is a Mobster who is sitting on top of the world. Bella is a writer just trying to make ends meet. When two worlds collide, will they survive? Or go up in flames? AH Mobward/ Domward/ Darkward. Slightly OOC
1. Prolouge

**Hello! I've had this idea floating around for a while. It's going to be Mobward all the way through the fic but it's going to have Angstward and Domward. **

**I want to clarify that when I say DOMward… I mean light spanking, dirty talk, MAYBE some tying to headboards. Now, I know that to some of you that sounds like a Domward fic… but it will not be a BDSM relationship. He will not collar her… ever. He is not a full Dom. He has a dominant sexual appetite without going full fledge. Make sense? If not PM me.**

**Go check out the Horny Halloween, hosted by Breath-of-Twilight. Yours truly has submitted a one-shot and 2 parts to the mass collab. You need to check this shit out! It's gonna be wild.**

**If you haven't checked out my story 'My Warrior', do it! Please. I think it's good… but I'm biased. It's a Greekward story. Very Troy like but with a lot of plotline **_**not **_**in Troy. Very sweet. The chances of you lovely ladies encountering a lemon are greater over there than they are here… at least for a little while.**

**Prologue-**

I am darkness and she is light.

I am evil and she is pure.

I am all that is bad and she is all that is good.

She turns a blind eye to the fact I am the monster under her bed,

That I am the most dangerous person she will ever encounter.

I don't deserve her affections.

I don't deserve the unconditional love she gives me.

I want protect her.

I want to force her away,

But I know I could never leave her.

She is my angel in this Hell I have created for myself.

I cling to her like a child to its mother,

Seeking the warmth and protection that only she could provide me.

I know that I will only end up hurting her.

I know she loves me.

I can see it in everything she does.

Especially when she turns those big brown orbs on me,

I can almost feel the love shining out of them.

I hope she knows how deeply I feel about her.

I hope she knows that I would do anything for her.

It kills me that I am dragging her into this underworld.

She is willing though,

It kills me.

I hate that I can't give her up.

I hate that I can't let her live the life she was destined for,

The life that doesn't have me in it.

I try to imagine her with a better man,

Someone who is not detrimental to her safety,

Someone who isn't me.

Everytime I try to,

I feel it a knife is twisting in my gut.

I can't surrender her.

God will punish me for taking his most prized angel away,

But I will take any punishment to stay with her.

She is light.

I am darkness.

And I know that I will extinguish her flame.


	2. Chapter 1

**Just a few notes-**

**If the paragraphs begin with a lot of 'she and I's' don't message me about redundancy, it is intentional- if you haven't noticed the chapter title is She and I…so yeah.**

**Check out my story- 'My Warrior'. I've been super busy with the Horney Halloween and Flame and school, but now that I'm done with HH new chappie will come my friends!**

**And, be sure to check out the Horny Halloween, hosted by Breath-of-Twilight! I have slaved away over my four pieces and will die if you don't read them!**

**Oh! And if you don't review… I'll have Mobward put a hit out on you!**

* * *

**EPOV**

I walked briskly down the crowded sidewalk of State Street at night in downtown Chicago, my feet silent as I weaved my way down through the people. It was winter and everybody was out Christmas shopping.

The December wind whips towards me and I don't even flinch. The wind is persistent however; it ruffles my already messy copper locks and blows the bottom of my grey pea coat open. I ignored the cold, though. Pain is not something I am a stranger too, so a little chill meant less than nothing to me.

The pedestrians gave me a wide berth. I don't blame them; their instincts told them to stay away from me. They somehow know I am a threat to them. They are right. I am a killer, nothing more and nothing less. I feel no remorse for those I have killed. All I feel now is anger and emptiness.

I have a few people close to me, but other than that I am alone.

I fuck whores, I kill people, I occasionally take part in drugs, and nothing else.

My green eyes scanned the area around me irritably. Restlessly watching the faces of the people who passed me, the cars whizzing by, the baker putting out fresh rolls in front of his shop, even the children trying to catch flurries on theirs tongues. I searched for my enemies, never sure where they were going to be. I never let my guard down.

All I saw were innocent people. Although how innocent they were, was up for debate. I have been in Hell for far too long to think that people are completely innocent.

So far, no one jumped out at me in the crowd.

Until I saw a girl walking towards me.

I registered her a second before she stumbled into me.

She was a short, curvy woman, with long wavy brown hair, and pale skin. I'd say not a day over twenty. She was carrying at least ten parcels, some of them in bags, and looked like she was having trouble balancing them. She wore worn in black chucks, faded blue jeans, and a raggedy tan coat that looked like it had seen much better days.

Since all of her energy was focused on not dropping any boxes, she hadn't noticed the crack in the side walk.

I had.

I tried to brace myself but my efforts were in vain. She crashed into me with the force no one would expect from someone her size. Usually I wouldn't have fallen over and made an ass of myself as I had, but those damn boxes were conspiring against me.

"Oomph!" She let out as we toppled to the ground in an ungraceful heap of limbs and packages.

Her small, soft body landed on my chest and she looked up at me with wide brown eyes fringed with lush lashes. Her cheeks were a rose color, whether from the cold or embarrassment I wasn't sure. Her full lips opened and closed in surprise. She had a soft innocence about her, as if the hard world hadn't taken its toll on her.

She was a lovely creature.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry!" She had a light, vibrant voice. A cool breeze compared to the hard Chicagoan accent. The girl scrambled to get off of me, her womanly hips rubbing against my own.

_Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit._

She didn't notice how rigid I became under her, trying to fend off a raging hard on.

We got up and dusted our selves off. I noticed a rip up the seam of my sleeve but shrugged it off; I had more than enough money to afford a new coat.

She groaned when she saw it. "Oh jeez. I'm such a klutz. I can pay for that."

I cast a dubious look upon her old coat. Right, like I was going to make her pay to fix a designer jacket, when she can't even afford a cheap new one. I may be a bastard… but only to those who deserve it. A wayward girl who stumbled, yeah, she didn't fucking deserve it.

She noticed my glance. Her eyes flashed with anger and her face screwed up into an adorable expression. "Just because I don't flaunt my wealth, doesn't mean I can't afford things. I'm perfectly capable of fixing your stupid coat."

Ah, so the pretty little lamb has a tigress inside of her. Well… more like an angry kitten, but still.

I smiled at her bravery. There are grown men twice her size, who wouldn't stand up to me the way she just did. "Don't worry about it."

She huffed and bent down to retrieve her fallen purchases. I was torn for a moment between wanting to help her and wanting to stare at her ass. It was a nice ass, all plump and round.

_Perfect for spanking…_

I shook myself from my thoughts and helped her out. When I looped them around her arms she started to wobble a bit. Before I could think about my actions, I reached out and steadied her. It was completely involuntary.

It scared the shit out of me.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, be careful there, we don't want a repeat performance."

Her cheeks flushed a scarlet red. It was one of the most innocent and yet alluring things I had ever seen. It was fucking adorable.

_Adorable, Cullen? Really? What kinda girly ass are you turning into? Are you gonna grow some tits now too, sweet cheeks? Check your piss; I think it's turned pink._

She ducked her head, her mahogany locks falling in a curtain around her. I gently tipped her chin towards me once more, my eyes longing to feast upon that enchanting blush. I stroked the soft skin. An electric current went through my fingers. Her eyes widened and I'm sure mine did too.

I reluctantly took my hand off her cheek. She blinked her eyes lazily, seemingly snapping out of the trance we were in.

She stepped out of my grasp. "So, uh, once again I'm sorry for crashing into you and I'm really sorry about your coat… um, have a good night."

She turned around and tried to walk away, but for some strange reason- I just couldn't let that happen. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back over to me. Her head cocked to the side and she looked at me in question. I tried to think of something to say that wouldn't make me sound creepy, but nothing was coming to mind.

I racked my brain. "I changed my mind."

"About what?"

_That's a good fucking question…_

"About my coat. There is a way that you can pay for it." _Don't fuck this shit up Cullen._

Her brown eyes glowed with anger again. She pursed her lips. "And? How much is it?"

I shook my head. "No. Not like that. You can have dinner with me."

She looked at me incredulously. "Dinner? With you? I don't even know you."

I smiled slightly. "Well, my name is Edward."

"I'm Bella." She giggled, the sweet sound going straight to my groin.

The name fit her perfectly.

"Well Bella, since it appears we aren't strangers any longer… would you do me the honor of going to dinner with me?"

"Yes Edward, I will go to dinner with you." She smiled a beautiful smile at me. I smiled back at her, elated she agreed to go with me.

I was about to reach for my cell to get her number, when a large man roughly shoved into Bella. She stumbled forward. This time I was ready for her, and caught her as she fell into my chest. I snarled and caught the man by his silk tie, pulling him until we were nose to nose. His face got red and sweaty as he took in my murderous face.

"Apologize to the lady," I growled in his face.

He glanced at Bella, who looked more than a little frightened. "I'm s-sorry, miss."

She nodded and I roughly shoved him away from me.

I turned back around to Bella, whose eyes were wide as saucers, and offered a weak smile. "My mom taught me to always be respectful of women." I tried to change the subject, knowing she didn't believe me. "So, can I walk you to your car, or hail you a cab?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I was just going to get the bus."

That stopped me cold. This beautiful, innocent girl taking a bus? _At night? _Was she crazy? "No you're not."

Before she could protest I whipped out my cell and turned away from her. I dialed one of the people I trusted the most.

"Yo bitch, you got the Big E."

I sighed. "Hey Em, I need a favor."

"You need some back up?"

"I'm good. I need you to meet me at the corner of State and Washington, bring the Guardian."

"What's going on Ed?"

"I… I have a friend who needs a ride home," I decided not to respond to the worthless nickname.

"Where to? The river? 'Cause I'm not sure, but I think we may be out of concrete." I heard a shuffling and various doors opening in the background. "Nope. Never mind, we got enough."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, you douche bag an actual friend who needs to go to an actual house."

"Oh! Alright you got it Eddie."

I glared at my phone as the dial tone sounded, the fucker hung up on me.

"Alright, so I have a car coming-." Bella cut me off.

"Oh, well have a good night Edward." She started to walk away, but I caught her arm.

"I mean, a car is coming to give you a ride home. And since this is the second time you've tried to walk away from me I'm starting to think you don't like me and that hurts. The only way to mend my broken heart is to let me give you a ride home." I pouted and tried to look as sad as possible. I wasn't going to let her take the bus home at night, even if I had to throw her into the trunk of my car.

"Your broken heart?" She giggled again.

"Yes, Bella, you wounded me." I placed my hand over my chest and stumbled back, feigning an injury.

She sighed. "I can't fight you on this, can I?"

I grinned cheekily. "Nope."

"And you're used to getting your way, aren't you?"

"Yup."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Alright. At least I get out of the cold."

I mentally high fived myself on my small victory. Even though I was use to getting my way, I was still happy she gave me the tiny win.

We were standing there in a comfortable silence for no more than 30 seconds, when a large, black Mercedes squealed around the corner. I could hear hardcore rap blaring from the closed windows.

The sound abruptly cut off and the window facing us rolled down. Emmett leaned across the passenger seat and yelled out, "Hey Eddie, who's your friend?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes. Bella handed me a few of her bags and we put them back in the trunk.

She looked uncomfortable.I grabbed her hand and gently pulled her towards me and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She felt so small and fragile against me. It was an odd feeling, comforting somebody. It was something I hadn't done in a long time.

We walked around and I checked to make sure there was nothing incriminating in the back seat. In his haste Emmett tends to just throw things and hide the evidence later. Once I made sure that my good friends Smith and Weston weren't chilling in the back, I all but herded her into the car, sliding in after her.

Emmett peeled away from the curb the moment my door was shut. "I'm Emmett, Eddie brother." He flashed her a grin through the rearview mirror.

"Hi, I'm Bella, Eddies stray." Bella giggled lightly and Emmett let out a loud guffaw. I scowled.

"So, buttercup we going somewhere? Or am I taking you on a tour of the city?"

She blushed again. "I guess we are going to my house. Uh… go down to West Roosevelt and make a right."

I already didn't like where this was going.

"What section do you live in?"

She fidgeted. "I live in the North Lawndale area."

I saw red. Of course Bella had to live in one of the most dangerous parts of Chicago. I have done a lot a business deals there, and I have to admit it creeped me the fuck out.

I was surprised at how protective I felt over the small brunette. I hadn't even know her an hour, yet I felt the urge to carry her over my shoulder and hide her away from all the dangers in the world. I found it ironic that I wanted to protect her from dangerous things, when I was one of the most dangerous people out there.

I didn't say anything and neither did Bella. Emmett however, couldn't keep his yap shut if it was sewn together. "Buttercup, you seem like a sweet little chicky, if you ever have any problems, you call me. Eddie give her my number."

I instantly remembered I hadn't given her _my_ number. I quickly reached over and plucked it out of her coat pocket. She stared at me in astonishment. I shrugged. Honestly I didn't know which pocket her cell was in, but I would have had _a lot_ of fun trying to find it.

I quickly programmed the numbers in to the small black phone before slipping it back into her pocket. She had a resigned look on her face and I just grinned at her.

A shrill noise pierced through the night air. It was different than the regular cars, not that many in this area. It was the squeal of a car going much to fast and turning much to suddenly.

My guard was up in an instant. I wield around and peered out the back window. A sleek black sedan was gaining on us. "Emmett we may have company."

He swerved into the right lane and I watched the car. Intent to see if they were tailing us.

They were. They pulled up behind us. "Definite company."

Our car shot forward. I could tell we were reaching speeds well over 70mph. Swerving in and out of cars; we managed to get a good 50 yards between ourselves and the sedan.

I pulled out my trusty Beretta 92FS 9M from my coat. She's been real good to me over the years. I saw Em pull out his from the glove compartment. Cullen men are nothing if not well armed.

Bella's scared voice pierced the heavy silence in the car. "Edward? What's going on?"

Fuck.


	3. Chapter 2

**My lovely ladies! I LOVE you all! You are all full of Awesome Sauce! You absolutely spoil me with your kindness and I am not worthy. *bows to the thrown of my mighty fangirls… or guys…I don't judge***

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINAPOLITIAN!!!!!!!!!**_

_**News-**_

**I have started a schedule for my fics. One week there will be an update to 'My Warrior', the next 'Flame'. This gives me ample time to work on each chappie individually and still do all my school work.**

_**Notes-**_

**Bella's emotions are kinda all over the place… and that makes sense to me, but it might not to you…If you have any questions about the characters and why they do the things they go, drop me a line and I will get back to you. **

_**I have a challenge for you all.**_

_**There is a title to a song somewhere in this fic. It's kinda hard to find, but its there.**_

_**If you are the first one to find it…**_

_**I will give you a sneak peak at My Warrior.**_

_**HINT- It's a 100 Monkeys song.**_

_**--- --- ---- ----- ------ ------- -------- ---------- -------- ------- ------ ----- ---- --- **_

_**EPOV-**_

I turned myself around and looked into her scared brown eyes. Her face was completely drained of color, the delicate rose color no longer visible. Her hands were shaking in her lap.

I reached over, and tried to cup her cheek with hand that wasn't holding my gun, but she flinched away from me. Her body pushed flush up against the door, trying desperately to get as far away from me as possible.

The action hurt me in a way I had never experienced before.

"Please Bella; I need you to trust me. Crouch down on the seat and cover your ears and face as much as you can. Please," I pleaded with her to listen to me.

She stared at me for a moment before slowly nodding. She sunk into the space between the back and front seats; she wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head there also, her hands cupping her ears.

If this car wasn't missile proof… I would have thrown a shit fit.

Alright, time to do what I do best.

_I'm so sorry fucking Bella._

"Em, do you think we can loose them without firing shots?" If I could avoid it, I wasn't going to fire a weapon anywhere near Bella.

Emmett barked a laugh. "Not likely. I can try, but no promises."

Abruptly, Emmett swerved us down an alley, the tires screaming out in protest. We gunned down the alley, and cut into traffic going to opposite way. The loud tire squeal behind us confirmed we hadn't lost them yet.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. This was going to take some effort.

We weaved in and out of the busy street. I kept a constant eye on the black car following us. I could tell that we were approaching midtown and if this continued; we would have cops tailing us in no time.

They sped up and started getting close to us. "Em! Go fuckin' faster."

"I can't! We're pushing 80 with civilians around." I sighed in frustration. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, he was right. The animal inside of me wanted to be unleashed.

I cocked the gun and rolled down the window. Aiming low at the tires of the car, I fired multiple shots. I vaguely heard Bella let out a small scream from the noise. I fired again and luckily the shot hit its target, shredding the front tire. The car spun out of control and ran into a lamppost. It didn't look like any civilians were hurt, just shocked.

"They're down, GO!" Emmett swerved into an alley and continued in a maze of streets and alleys, gradually losing speed until we were back at normal rates.

I turned to look at Bella, who was still on the floor covering her head, but now she was shaking like a leaf. I slid across the seat and gently scooped her up into my arms, holding her tightly against my chest. I stroked her soft brown hair and willed her to calm down.

"Bella, it's alright, everything is fine. I gotcha. It's alright." I muttered the statement and stroked her hair until she stopped shaking.

"Eddie man… where are we going? I don't think it's a smart move to bring her back to HQ," Emmett called softly to me from the front. That was a good point. I didn't want to risk going back the way we came either. They probably called in some reinforcement by now. But going to head quarters wasn't an option either. We have a civilian in the car that saw too much… yeah that shit isn't going to go over well with daddy dearest.

Usually if a civilian happened to see too much, let's say a body dump or a killing, we would kill them. They were dead No exceptions. Bella saw too much. Way too fucking much. She can go to the police at any time and rat us out, and believe me those fat pigs have been trying to nab us for too fucking long. Not that I blame them… but that's not the fucking point. The point is she should be killed. And if it were anybody else, they would be on their way to their execution. But the thought of hurting this beautiful girl caused a pain in my chest that I had never felt before. I felt this insane need to protect this charming, innocent girl that I haven't even known a full afternoon. I can't kill her… and I can't let her be killed.

The only place I could think was even a remotely good place to take her and work this shit out, was the only place I had never brought a woman in my entire life.

My compound.

The reason I don't bring women there because if they get fucking needy I don't want clingers, not because I have dungeons or some shit. My compound is my own private residence. If a woman happens to be there, it's my sister, or my mother, or the occasional aunt. I save my fucking for the hotels. And I'm usually very anal about this rule, but there was something about this soft, delicate woman that was making me break all my rules.

"Let's take her back to the compound." Emmett didn't say anything, but Bella did.

She started to wriggle in my grip and I released my hold on her. She was suddenly a blur of movement. Her small hands pounding against my chest. Her nails scrapping into the skin of my arms. The angry kitten was out in full force. "Let me go, you psycho! Who the hell are you?! Let me out, let me out, LET ME OUT!"

Emmett, ever the overgrown child, started roaring with laughter from the front seat. "Damn buttercup, you have a loud mouth on you."

I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed her wrists tightly and pulled her tightly against my chest. I started straight into her brown eyes, ones that were currently glaring daggers at me. "I need to think and I can't do that with you making me deaf. If I release you, will you behave and not hit me anymore?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"How fast you release me." I retracted my grip on her and she once again moved all the way across the seat.

I raked my hand through my hair and thought over what I should do.

_Step one, smoke cig. Step two, shoot self in foot for stupidity. _That sounds like a pretty solid plan if you ask me.

Rifling through my pockets, I pulled out my trusty tin of discontinued Camel Rare. These were expensive as hell to find and I only smoke them if it is a dire emergency… like right now. I lit the end and took a _looong_ dragoff it. _Fucking sweet. _The nicotine was instantly calming.

"What the hell are you doing?" Startled, I turned towards Bella, who had a look of disgust on her face.

"Uh… I'm smoking." To prove my point I took another drag and blew it out slowly.

"Can you not? I have asthma and I _detest_ the smell of cigarette smoke." She switched her glare down from my eyes to the cig in the hand.

In a move that would hopefully win me some points with Bella, I stubbed out my cig on the bottom of my shoe and placed it back in the tin. That shit was expensive and I was going to smoke it down until I hit the filter.

_Get your shit together Cullen. She's just a girl; you don't have to make concessions for her._

But she wasn't _just_ a girl, was she? She was a girl who stood up to me and hit me and talked back to me, when grown men twice her size wouldn't. She was a girl who was nothing special, but held my attention like a marching band. She was a girl with hopes and dreams and her whole life ahead of her.

She is a girl who I probably have to kill now.

"Is that better kitten?"

She sneered at me. "Are you always such a dick?"

_Good God. _The blood from my brain immediately rushed straight to my cock. I bit my lip to stifle to groan that threatened to escape my throat. The fire in her eyes and on her sweet face was such a huge turn on. Her sweet voice wrapped around the words caressing them and warping them in a way I had never experienced. I have never had this reaction to a woman in my whole fucking life.

I wanted to see if she was just as passionate in bed as she is when she's angry. I wanted to hear her call my name beneath me. I wanted to hear her cry out to the heavens as she came apart in my arms.

"Yes, I am. You better get used to it kitten."

Shaking my head to clear the extremely distracting thoughts, I glanced sparingly out the window, noticing how we had moved into a less industrial and swankier part of town. My 'compound', as we jokingly called it, was a penthouse flat in the Gold Coast area that over looked Lake Michigan.

"Em, how far away from the compound are we?"

"Not to far Eddie, three blocks or so."

When I turned around to face Bella, she didn't look angry anymore. She looked so damn scared. Absolutely terrified. Eyes that were once set in a semi permanent glare were now wide with fear. Cheeks that were once flushed with anger were now drained of all color. I reached forward and placed my cold hand against her the now colorless flesh. Bella flinched slightly but didn't move. "I'm not going to hurt you Bella. We are only going to my house, no one is there. It'll only be you, me, and Emmett. I promise I will not hurt you. I _swear_ I will not hurt you."

Our eyes were locked in an impenetrable stare. She must have sensed that I meant every word I said, because her head nodded ever so slightly in response.

"Yeah, and if anybody is there… I got your back buttercup," Emmett boomed from the front. Bella jumped slightly and let out a shaky laugh. "Thanks Emmett."

Emmett turned down Schiller Street and pulled up in front my high rise apartment building. He got out first and scanned the area, then walked over to the gated underground parking lot. He punched in the pin number and returned to the car. We quickly slipped through the gates and parked the car.

"Emmett you stand guard."

"Got it Eddie." He got out of the car first and went to stand in front of it, his face pensive as his eyes hungrily searched the vast space.

"Stay here," I whispered to Bella before I exited the car.

I hurried my quickly retrieved her parcels form the trunk and made my way around to open her door, only to notice she had already gotten out and was making her way towards Emmett.

I tried to clamp down on the anger that was coursing through my veins. "I thought I told you to stay in the car Bella."

She shrugged her shoulders and continued walking. "I don't like waiting. It's boring. And I wanted to piss you off."

She didn't fucking get it. If this was a less secure area, she may or may not be dead right now. If the wrong people happen to see her with one of us, she'll be dead by the end of the week. I don't want to take that fucking chance.

_Isn't that what you're gonna have to do anyway?_

I roughly shoved some bags into the arms of an unsuspecting Emmett, who staggered slightly. "Well I don't like when people defy me."

She glared at me. "I'm not a piece of property Edward and I'm not a mindless robot, I don't have to listen to you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, an action I only performed when I was an inch away from losing my shit. If I didn't get a hold of my anger, I would do something rash.

I stalked forward, towards the elevator. Behind me Emmett started mumbling to Bella. "Don't worry buttercup he isn't mad at you, it's his time of the month."

Bella giggled and the sound went straight to my cock. Again.

_What sound of hers___isn't _going straight to your cock?_

I ignored them both and punched the entry code into the elevator keypad. I know it seemed like it was a bit excessive, but security was my top concern.

The ride up to the top floor was silent. It was a relief when the doors opened to a small room that could hold no more than ten people. There was nothing to decorate in, just hardwood floors and white walls. The main focus was on the large metal door directly across from where we were standing. We crossed the small room and I gently pushed on a panel to the right of the door. A small keypad popped out along with a finger print scanner. I pressed my fingers to the scanner and simultaneously hit the code into the pad. The door swung open automatically and I ushered Bella inside.

"Holy guacamole," Bella breathed. I glanced at her to see a wide eyed expression on her face as she looked around at my humble abode. I'll be the first to admit it was a _touch_ over the top. Just a touch.

I let my mother have free range over every room, except my bedroom, and she didn't disappoint. The floors in the foyer, kitchen, and dining room were checker boarded black and white marble, the rest of the apartment, a dark hardwood. The walls colors varied room to room, from the palest of ivory's to the darkest navies. Bella was staring directly ahead at the living room, done in shades of forest green and gold. It was my favorite room in the whole house. The walls were dark green striped with ivory that had countless works of priceless art hanging on them; there was a large slightly overstuffed brown leather sofa and matching chairs, dark wood tables, and an extremely expensive gold threaded Persian rug. The drapes were gold and they hung across the solid wall of windows on the south side of the room, they matched the gilded fire place. But, what really made this room my favorite was the music. There was a black grand piano in front of the windows, and rows after rows of records and CD's in shelves. I was constantly in here, escaping from my self built hell into what feels like heaven.

I hung up my coat in the closet and started towards the couch… that Emmett was currently hogging. "Move your ass," I muttered as I pushed his legs off it and sat down. I expected Bella to come sit next to us, but was surprised when I didn't here her footfalls.

Turning, I saw Bella was still standing in the foyer, gaping at the inside of my house. I walked towards her and gently put my hand on her shoulder. "Bella? Do you want to sit down?"

She looked at me, brown eyes wide. "Sit down… in Buckingham Palace?"

I laughed and gently escorted her over to a chair. "Buckingham Palace, eh? I'll have to take you to my summer house in Connecticut. Now _that's_ more like Buckingham Palace."

She paled. "I was joking Bella," I told her as I walked over to the liquor cabinet by the fireplace and poured myself three fingers of aged whiskey. "Do you want a drink?"

Her brown curls went flying as she shook her head. "No. I would like some answers though."

I glanced at Emmett who winced and nodded his head a bit. "Alright then, but you won't like what you hear."

I sat down and downed the whiskey in one gulp, not even wincing as it burned a fiery trail down my throat.

Just when I opened my mouth to speak, a loud pounding came from the door.

_Fuck._

Emmett and I stood up, on high alert. I turned towards Bella, and whispered to her harshly. "Stay here. I mean it Bella, don't fucking move."

We made our way to the door; I bent down and retrieved the SIG I had in my ankle holster. I brought it up to my chest and moved towards the door. Motioning for Emmett to get behind me, I got behind the door and threw it open.

Moving quickly, I came from behind the door and pointed the gun at the person on the other side's chest.

Only to regret it immediately.


	4. Chapter 3

**Authors Note****- **Hi ladies -and gentlemen-once again a massive thank you for all the love I'm getting! It warms the place in my heart I only have for self-thought-up nudie pix of Jackson Rathbone and Alexander Skarsgard.

I late I know! Midterms have been kicking my ass! Please be gentle.

**News****- **I'm not form Chicago. I've never even been to Chicago… except for a layover… ok not the point. I want to be as authentic as possible, but I want a few local dives and stuff you wouldn't find online. So, if you are from Chi-town or have visited it and have a favorite joint- massage me!

**Website for Fics-**

AdreeFics(DOT)webs(DOT)com

**Disclaimer**- I don't own. Shocker, I know.

* * *

**EPOV-**

"Jesus fucking Christ Alice, haven't you learned by now to _call _before you come over! I could have damn well shot you!"

Alice Cullen-Hale was both the bane of my existence and the apple of my eye. She is my twin sister, but looks much more like Emmett. Her hair is a sleek black color that matches perfectly with his dark locks. I'm the only one in the family that has the strange bronze color. Her eyes were an exact match to mine and our mothers, a bright vibrant green. She was shorter than fuck though. Standing less than five feet tall, I could pick Alice up and move her out of my way whenever I wanted.

Too bad she would kick my ass if I did.

I got the distinct feeling my pixie of a sister wasn't even listening to me. She just pranced into the house, gave me a hug and proceeded in as if I hadn't had my gun pointed straight at her forhead.

"Good evening oh brother of mine, how art thou this fine evening," she asked as she breezed pass me, I rolled my eyes and slamed the door shut. I still couldn't believe she figured out the garage and elevator codes. The only thing that was stopping her from coming in the door was my finger print scanner.

I had the scanner installed a few months ago after a very embarrassing incident that included Alice, Jasper, myself, lotion, and some tissues. Long story short, Jasper still won't look me in the eyes.

Alice and Emmett embraced and she made to move further into my apartment, but I caught her arm and pulled her back over to me. I wasn't going to let her ambush Bella.

"Alice, I have a guest over right now and you can't be here. Come back later." I tried to pull her towards the door but she held firm. I knew first hand that even though she looks tiny and frail as hell, she can turn her body into 110 pounds of dead weight.

"I know everybody you would have over here, why do I have to leave…" she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands dramatically. I rolled my eyes. "It's a _girl_ isn't it?! OMIGOD you never have girls over here! Who is she?"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose roughly. Only Alice could make my mood go from semi- alright to fucking frustrated in seconds. "Alice, please leave. I don't want you accosting her. She has been through a lot today and the last thing she needs is a tiny sprite annoying the hell out of her."

She glared at me before flouncing down the short hallway. Thankfully Emmett grabbed her arm before she could round the corner. "Alice I don't think this is a good idea. Edward may be right… he's not often right but this time he be."

She wrenched her small arm out of his grip. "I'm not going to hurt her! I just want to take a look at the girl you let into your den of sin. Besides, she's probably safer with me than she is with the both of you."

Emmett and I shared a look. _Fine_. I sighed and turned back to Alice. "Fine. But don't talk to her and don't bother her. Just look discreetly and get out.

Alice nodded excitedly. "Don't worry, discreet is my middle name."

_Yeah, and mine is virgin._

Alice walked into the room, Emmett and I quickly followed. Suddenly, Alice let out a squeal loud enough to wake the dead. I clapped my hands over my ears to keep out the piercing sound out. I watched in shock as she pranced across the floor and hugged an equally shocked Bella.

"Alice? What are you doing here," Bella asked tentatively as she and Alice squeezed each other tightly.

Alice pulled back and held Bella at an arms length. "What am I doing here!? What are_ you_ doing here?"

Bella turned her head slightly and eyed me warily, unsure of what, or how, much to say. "I-I'm really not sure. Uh…"

"We ran into a bit of trouble earlier. I brought her back here to calm her down," I spoke up looking between Alice and Bella.

Alice gasped and stalked towards me. She started viciously poking me in the chest. "What did you do Edward? I swear to God…"

I stepped out of her reach and rubbed my chest where she poked me. Her fucking talons are sharp as hell. "I didn't _do_ anything. We just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time! How is that my fault?"

Alice's face flushed a dangerous color. "Wrong place huh? Let's try this again shall we. Would Bella have been at this 'wrong place,'" Cue the air quotes. "…if it wasn't for you?

I raked my hands through my hair roughly. I couldn't handle this shit right now. "I don't know Alice. Why don't you ask Bella?"

Her voice started getting louder. "I'm not asking Bella I'm asking you!"

Bella started moving closer to us, trying to answer the question. "I-"

"Well I don't have an answer for you Alice! I don't see the future, I'm not a freak like _you_!"

_Oh, shit._

She pursed her lips and turned her head away from me. I could see her wide green eyes turned a bit glassy.

I reached out and tried to put my hand on her shoulder. She flinched away from it. "Shit Ali, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

She turned to me, eyes now hard. "Yes, you did. But, it's fine. I am a freak. I know that."

Emmett stepped forward and put his massive arms around her. His blue eyes glared at me, burning a hole straight through me. "Shh, don't talk like that Ali. You're not a freak."

I threw my hands up in frustration and went to pour myself a glass of whiskey. This is going to be a _looong_ ass day.

Bella came up behind me. "You shouldn't have said that to Alice."

I sighed and downed the glass, pouring myself, _yet again_, another. "I didn't mean too. It's been a long day and it's only going to get longer."

She bit her plump lip and looked down. _God, how I wanted to bite that lip._ Her soft voice broke the silence between us. "How do you know Alice?"

I swallowed the remains of my whiskey. "She's my sister."

Her brown eyes widened and she gaped at me. "But you look nothing-"

"Alike. I know. I'm the only one in the family with red hair. Anyway, shouldn't I be asking _you_ how you know Alice?"

She blushed that sinful shade of red again. This was seriously trying my restraint. "I- we work together. At the _Tribune_."

Ah, the _Chicago Tribune_. Wonderful. Fucking great. Now the fact that I got into a high speed gun fight is going to be splashed across the front page. Just what I freakin wanted.

"I can tell from your face that you think I'm going to print a story on the…er…_situation_, you got into today in the paper. But, you're in luck. I'm not a journalist. I'm a secretary slash future author." She laughed awkwardly at her 'joke' and I couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. Although I was involved in some extremely shady business, for a good cover, I was an upstanding businessman. Being the CEO of a Fortune 500 company came with it's perks, one of those 'perks' was name recognition.

As you can probably tell… shooting at people is not good press. _Ever._

That's why Alice works as an editor for the _Tribune_. She can approve or deign stories that paint our 'family business' in a negative light.

We fell into an awkward silence, the murmured sounds of Alice and Emmett speaking the only sounds in the room. Bella looked extremely uncomfortable standing there, rubbing her arms every now and then, biting that extremely temping lower lip of hers, and shuffling her feet. It was obvious she didn't know what to do with herself. Not that I was any fucking better…

"Drink," I offered her, desperate to break the tension between us.

She looked grateful. "Please."

"Pick your poison." I gestured to the fully stocked mini bar. She shyly asked for a gin and tonic. I handed it to her and she finished it off in two gulps, obviously fucking eager for the 'social lubricant' to take it's affects.

"Edward," Alice suddenly called over to me. "I think we all need to sit down and have a little chat."

I rolled my eyes but obliged, gently placing my hand on the small of Bella's back and leading her over to the couch. What can I say? I'm a gentleman.

I plopped down next to Emmett, Bella sitting to my right, and Alice sitting herself on one of the matching chairs.

"Alright," Alice began. "We obviously need to discuss what happened this evening and what the fuck we are going to do about it." She looked at each of us pointedly as she spoke.

Bella spoke first. "I don't know what's going on… but I would really like not to be 'whacked.'"

I groaned to stifle a laugh. _Whacked? Seriously?_ "You have been watching waaay too many episodes of the _Sopranos_."

She scowled, her pouty lips puffing out and a small crease forming between her eyes. I was hard as a diamond. "You don't get to be snarky. Shooting at people in cars are not the way I go about my day-to-day life. This might be normal for you, but I am out of my element here."

"We're sorry Bella. We had no idea someone would start trailing us," Emmett apologized. "If we could have avoided it, we would have."

I nodded and tried to look as remorseful as I could. It was hard. No really…I was still fucking hard as hell. She was still pouting and all I could think about is how good her pink lips would look wrapped around my cock.

Alice interrupted my day dream. "That's all well and good, but we still need to figure out how we can keep all this quite. If Uncle Caius finds out…"

She didn't finish and she didn't have too. If Caius finds out that a civilian, _a civilian that works at a paper no less_, was in the car, knows our names, and came back to the compound, without any promises of secrecy…

Bella would be slaughtered within the week. And it wasn't going to be quick. It was going to be slow and brutal. One of the murders people will talk about for years.

She will be made an example to every person in our organization.

Her death wouldn't occur because of me.

_I'll make damn sure of it._

My upper lip curled into a snarl just thinking of the possibilities. I was so drawn to this woman that even hypothetical scenarios of her death made me want to violently lash out at someone. I couldn't understand for the fucking life of me why I was so protective of her. I haven't even known her a full day and I was going all caveman over her.

Alice took notice at the way my face held an expression of pure malice. "Edward, calm down. I know that look on your face, losing your shit right now would be counterproductive."

She was right of course. As always. I couldn't dwell on fictional scenarios.

_Deep fuckin breath in… let it out slowly._

"Fine," I ground out.

Bella's soft lilting voice spoke up. "I'm not going to tell anybody. I swear."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn't know how to explain to her that it was a lot more than that. Usually we blackmail people into silence… incriminating pictures, threats, things of that nature. We would tap their phones and keep a watchful eye of on them. I couldn't imagine threatening Bella in submission like that.

Thankfully, Emmett decided to interject. "Bella… it's really not that simple. Usually we would…er…_persuade_ you to keep quite. I'm sure I speak for everybody when I say we don't want to do that. I'm sure that if we made sure you are a trustworthy associate then we can avoid a whole lot of ugly."

"Remember how I told you about people who might kill you if they saw you with us," I asked her.

"Yes."

"Think of that… but twenty times worse." _Short. Sweet. To the point._

Bella groaned and out her head in her hands, covering her pretty face from my view. "So what do I have to do?"

I finally spoke up, determined to see her bright brown eyes again. "Eh… not much, just go to dinner with us…don't hobnob with cops…don't wear a flower with a wire tap."

Bella peaked at me from between her fingers and cracked a smile. Just the effect I was looking for. "I can do numbers one and three, but two is gonna be a problem."

_Oh, shit._ "Why?"

"My dad is a cop. Strictly small town, but a cop none the less."

Fucking wonderful. "Do you think you can refrain from tell him about a high speed shoot out?"

She nodded, still smiling slightly. "I can try."

"Good." I hit my thighs and stood up, walking towards the bar.

I planned on getting good and hammered.


	5. Haitian Auction

**AN ANNOUNCEMENT: PLEASE READ:**

**MsKathy has galvanized various Twilight Fan Fic authors and me to contribute out takes, one shots, etc for an anthology in aid of the Haitian relief effort. If you donate at least $5.00 to the charity of your choice for aid to Haiti – MsKathy will send you the anthology.**

**Sracth what I said about choosing. I jumped the gun. Sorry.**

**But, You still get a one-shot that will be specificly for you! So go buy me and help Haiti.**

**This is a cause that deserves our time and effort. The Haitians need our help!**

**More information about MsKathy's endeavour can be found here:**

**http://mskathyff(dot)blogspot(dot)com/2010/01/haiti(dot)html?zx=af67daf7708b89c8**


End file.
